Interesting Times
by biopheonix4810
Summary: "If you would look past your hatred of me for a bit, and looked around you'll see something interesting. Every mammal in this room right now is nothing but a piece on a chess board. Including you and me."
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: The Births of the Future.

January 21, 1889

In two very different homes, amongst two very different families, in the heart of the Vulpina Empire, two mammals who would forever change the fate of all Mammals, were being born.

One was a fox, born to the Wilde name, Royalty and all that entitled. His mother Marian was a kindly and stern vixen, stern but eminently fair. His father, John, a todd, was agile both in mind and body, even amongst foxes .

The other a lagomorph. The distinction between rabbits and hares had long been lost to most ancient parts of history. Born to the name Hopps, her mother Bonnie was fierce and independent. Her father Stuart was a gentle soul, one of light that burned persistently so as to never be put out, but gently so as to never harm the wielder.

The fox, born amongst royalty, was surrounded by splendor.

The rabbit, born of farmers, was bathed in mud.

The fox went to lessons, and learned from the finest tutors, as befitting royalty.

The rabbit worked in the fields and attended the college of hard knocks and blows.

The fox, however, was dissatisfied with his lot in life, and so would leave the palace, traveling amongst the streets the streets of Cordeburn attending the college of hard knocks and blows, much to the amusement of his father, and chagrin of his mother.

The rabbit was also dissatisfied with her lot in life. And would work extra amongst her neighbor's fields often late into the night, scrounging coin to buy books. Books that trained her mind in manners worthy of Royalty.

The two would meet under dire circumstances, as life and fate would have it, probably for the best, as it is the most pressing situations that create the greatest opportunities.

=8=

A/N: Yes, I know, I update fairly slowly on my other story already, however this simply refused to leave my head, and I'm hoping that having more than one story for my scattered mind to focus on will actually help. And the next chapter for Wilde West _WILL_ be up before Christmas, I have no intention of abandoning it, though I have taken a break from writing it to brainstorm, and have some additional places to take it, provided they work out. Also Considering making a Clean Version of this story as there will be violence in it, and depending on how the narrative progresses smut(though limited). Please PM me or leave your thoughts in the reviews.

Cordeburn is a conjunction of Corona de Auburn; Crown of Auburn.


	2. The Animalia Parade

_Disclaimer I: Zootopia and Its characters are all property of their creators at Disney, this is non-profit fanfiction._

 _Disclaimer II: General trigger warning, for things like violence and swearing._

=8=

Chapter I

April 13, 1913 Anno Domini

Nicholas Piberius Wilde.

Crown Prince of Imperial Vulpina, Archduke of Fredat and Grehsa.

 _Fox_.

It seemed the last bit was the only important part.

Nick snorted. Mammals considered themselves evolved, yet the current state of the world showed otherwise. Vulpina had always struggled with obtaining and sustaining any kind of treaty, because the ruling family, his, were foxes. With the various Royal Families all at each other's throats war seemed inevitable. It wasn't Nationalism either. It was _just_ the royal families, with the common folk all wondering why they had to fight all the battles for them. Hell, the Lionhearts and Bellwethers were ready to start a war over an insult at a dinner party. Apparently Prince Leodore had called the Bellwether's daughter Smellwether.

Despite all of his titles, Nick was powerless to do anything about it. This was the very same reason his father had surrendered the title of Crown Prince to Nick, as he was even relatively powerless compared to the ruler of their nation, his grandfather, Emperor Julius II. The eighty-seven year old leader ruled with an iron fist, so anything Nick tried to do that was anywhere _close_ to progressive was instantly halted. Julius insisted that the other Empires  & Republics were all weaker because they acquiesced to their people's demands when in reality, Julius's insistence on refuting reform meant Vulpina was the weakest out of the other empires...

And _everyone_ knew it.

Vulpina was home to a weak economy that was for all intents and purposes, feudal, with only a grand total of eight factories in the entire country. All eight of those factories were in Fredat, a city that straddled and crossed the border. On the other side of the border in the same town, there were not a measly eight factories...there were eight _hundred_. The only reason Vulpina Fredat had factories was because Nick was the Archduke there, and the Emperor had to appease the Electorate, who the Archdukes were a part of. Julius II did that in the easiest way possible, by letting the Electorate do as they pleased. Even so, Nick had been pushing his luck with those eight factories, despite the fact that he was one of five Archdukes. The Electorate had a set status quo that included making life for the people living under your rule as miserable as possible and doing nothing to improve their lot. He wasn't the only one dissatisfied with this. But if the Electors and Nobles who wanted to take Vulpina out of the Dark Ages, to join the rest of the world which had done so two hundred years prior, were to join together, they would likely have to go to war to do so. And no one thought a civil war was the way to move ahead.

The military was more based on who you knew and whom you were related to than any sort of meritocracy. The Nobility was allowed -and even encouraged- by the Emperor to walk over the lower classes, as if it were not the lower classes that provided them with the clothes they wore, the homes they lived in, the food they ate, and the gold they flaunted. Because of his powerlessness, Nick was perceived to be a weak carbon copy of his grandfather.

It was a heavily debated topic: Who was hated more? The Emperor, his son, or his grandson?

The Prince stood on a balcony wondering if there was anything he could do to help his country short of blatant treason. He wasn't a religious mammal, firmly believing that being a decent mammal should be reason enough to have a moral code. But he did pray. He prayed probably more than any other mammal in the castle, and he prayed that today would be the day his grandfather died.

As he had for the past nine years.

Time would only tell how much his grandfather's stubborn closed mindedness had cost Vulpina. There were twenty-one Emperors before Julius II and every one of them, including Cinnforus, who had united the various fox clans twelve hundred years ago, had been more forward thinking than Julius II. The rest of the world was entering a new age, one where ways to make everything cheaper, faster and better were created on a daily basis... _except_ Vulpina.

The young prince sighed. Thoughts like these were why he drank.

Not the petty wine so often served at the even pettier balls and dances held here in the palace proper.

No, for Nick, his country's home-brewed beers and ales were more than adequate. He began to make his way to the cellar deep in the heart of the castle, shrouded in dark thoughts that many of the older servants could see hanging on the young prince's shoulders. Many of those older servants felt sorry for the young prince as he trudged down the white marble halls.

The knew him to have a heart far too large for one who was to rule what was currently the largest of the Mammalian countries.

No one spoke of the medicine, of royal quality, that would find it's way into the wages of the servants who had sick or injured family. Or the supplies of food to those who had none.

So outside the walls, he remained hated by an unknowing populace.

Having made his way down to the cellar he waited a few seconds for his eyes to adjust. It didn't take long, one of the perks of being nocturnal by nature. He made his way over to what was "His Corner". An old chair that should have been thrown out years ago but was incredibly comfortable, a stack of books for pleasure and reports he had smuggled out of the Emperor's meetings, so he wasn't unaware of the going ons of the kingdom, and kegs filled with some of the better ale. All within arms reach.

He started with the reports first. Each of which was more of the same.

Mass hunger, almost to the point of starvation in the major cities thanks to food prices that were ridiculous. Mass unemployment, as no factories or industries in general meant no jobs. No room for improvement either, everything was regulated by the Electors and the Emperor. Troop build-ups along the Empire's Northern border by the Stagborne and Bellwethers. Vulpina boasted a military that would have been impressive...were the date forty years in the past. He snorted at the last one. General Rhinowitz was being generous, Vulpina's standard rifle was a single shot rifle that was nearly fifty years old, when the rest of world had switched to lever or bolt action rifles.

If Nick were being honest, he read the reports more for the sake of having an excuse to drink his worries away. He tucked the papers away, as they'd make for nice kindling, then poured himself a pint. Today was the thirteenth of April, the day before Animalia, which meant he was going to have to be in public tomorrow. He shrugged. He'd limit himself with his drinking tonight even though his public image couldn't possibly get any worse.

=8=

The mechanics bay of the palace was surprisingly large and well equipped for being such a new addition to the castle. As far as Nick could tell all of the equipment here was state of the art. Though he would be the first to admit he didn't know much about any sort of mechanical processes, especially when it came to cars. He didn't even how they worked on a basic level, and saw no reason to learn. To him they were loud and obnoxious, and not particularly practical, as they liked to break for no apparent reason. They were, however, good for letting the 'rich and shameless', as he often called his fellow patricians, flaunt their wealth.

He huffed at that. How did the Nobles and Electors get their wealth when they specifically stunted economic growth and the populace couldn't afford to buy food, much less pay their taxes? Nick stood off to one side, having decided that getting in the way of, and likely pissing off the mechanics, wasn't a good idea. Especially if the team leaders or whatever they called groups of mechanics had tempers like the various sergeants in the Royal Guard. They had a job to do and heavens forbid if you got in their way and prevented them from doing it.

Nick saw his father approaching and smiled. "I see I'm not the only one our dear leader decided to bore."

John merely smiled at the younger fox. "Of course not, what would the day be without our Emperor trying to make our lives miserable?"

Nick nodded thoughtfully a second. "A day in the lives of a normal family?"

The two foxes looked at each other and laughed at that. On the far side of the bay there was thunderous roar that the foxes recognized as the Emperor yelling at the top of his lungs. Or as they said in private, he was throwing a fit. Which resulted in John then Nick raising an eyebrow, a silent message that agreed, at least they weren't the ones being yelled at that day.

It hurt John to look at Nick, not that the older fox would ever say so, or after today be able to say as much. Nick looked so much like his mother, physically. Mentally Nick was entirely his father's son. Sarcastic, sly, with an ever present smirk on his face. It hurt more, though, looking at his son this time. The younger fox had no idea what was going to happen today, and he himself had only found out last night. John sighed, the sacrifice he was to make was necessary if the Empire was to break free from the stagnant and dying state it was currently in. Hopefully what little he had tried to arrange to influence what was likely going to be the beginning of a new age for the Empire had gone off without a hitch.

"I want you to know, I'm proud of you," John spoke, catching Nick's eye as the younger fox looked over at him. "You'll make a fine Emperor, better than I would have, and I want to let you know that everything happens for a reason." The older fox then walked off, to the car that was waiting for him, leaving a very confused Nick behind.

"Prince Wilde." Nick turned to see Imperator Wolford, his personal guard, waiting beside his car with the door open. "I know you hate this parade but we really should get moving."

"All right then," Nick sighed as he climbed into the car. How had it come to this point, where a parade that was meant to celebrate the unification of Predator and Prey did nothing but allow the rich and shameless to flaunt everything they had? The relatively recent invention of automobiles had only made it worse in Nick's mind.

The Animalia Parade consisted of several cars and floats, the latter pulled by larger mammals who had been paid, the cars having a single Royal or Noble each. The floats were the actual Parade, celebrating the Great Peace as it was called, depicting the story by having giant storyboards on the floats. The cars were there to remind the people that they were on the bottom of this utopia they had created.

It didn't take long after its start for the Parade to reach the downtown area of Cordeburn. Nick was hating every second of it regardless of how short the route was. Everywhere he looked he saw angry eyes. Eyes that had been, and still were, suffering at the paws of his grandfather and the nobility. The eyes of the sick elderly. The eyes of parents of starving children. All while he stood there in the car, waved and smiled, wearing an emerald gold-trimmed tunic that cost more than these people would make in a lifetime. He was powerless to do anything. Everything he had tried had been put to an end by the Emperor, whether Nick had done it himself, or tried to do it discreetly through his servants. It was well known among the palace staff that there was a reward for any news brought to the Emperor concerning anything Nick was even considering doing. A reward that would guarantee food for your family. Even those mammals who wished Nick luck in his attempts felt swayed by the reward, as a factory built a town over tomorrow didn't put food on table and medicine in your pocket today.

The cheers surrounding him were all fake, and he knew it. He had asked the servants what the people outside the palace walls thought of him, and it was the same every time. Unadulterated hatred. Couldn't the nobles around him hear it? The absurdity of the cheers? He resisted the urge to simply sit down and shake his head. It would do no good after all, all the people would see was a spoiled prince throwing a fit.

It was then that the first explosion happened. One moment the Emperors car was there, the next it was thrown nearly seven meters into the air as a burning wreck. The shockwave was a physical force, knocking Nick down into the rear seat of the car he was in. The faked cheers turned into real screams as Nick quickly rose, just in time to see his father turn back towards him and give a small, sad smile. The next instant saw the same thing happen to John's car as had happened to the Emperors.

Nick's cry was drowned out by the explosion and the shockwave that hit immediately after the soundwave, which again threw him into the back seat of the car. Before Nick could think, Wolford was pulling him from the now stopped car, telling the driver "Get clear, it's rigged to blow!" Throughout the Parade the bodyguards of the Nobles were doing much the same, though the Nobles and Electors all insisted that the drivers stay with the cars, as they were too invaluable to be left among the common folk. It didn't matter, however, as it appeared the only two cars set to exploud had already done so, leaving inferno's blocking the parade route. Instead, the attack continued through massed rifle fire, as practically every window in every building seemed to sprout rifle muzzles. The goal was rather clear as the insurgents began specifically targeting the higher ranking Nobles, Electors and Nick.

Nick felt himself being shoved and heard a scream which caused him to turn and see a patch of red blossoming on Wolford's leg. The result was Wolford screaming for Nick to get to safety, which he promptly ignored by risking his own life to grab the wolf and drag him into a nearby alley. Once inside the alley, Nick took stock of the situation. Presumably, both his father and grandfather were dead, killed in the explosions. Why hadn't his car been rigged to explode? If it had been, who disarmed the bomb on his car but left the bombs on his fathers and grandfathers? These were questions that needed answers. Answers that he would have to find later, as a bullet cracked past his ear by mere millimeters, forcing him to duck down. Where were the security forces, why were there mammals with rifles able to fire at both himself and the Electors unopposed? The bodyguards of various nobles were beginning to return fire now, though it was more in desperation than any actual attempt to gain control of the situation and the few who returned fire were quickly spotted and gunned down by whoever was leading this assault. Nick turned towards his wolf companion, having to yell to be heard over the constant gunfire.

"How are you doing?!"

"About as well as I can be, Your Majesty!"

"Can you walk if I help you?!" Wolford cocked his head inquisitively, at Nick's question.

"Your Majesty?!"

"Can you walk if I help you, Wolford?!" This time the wolf just shook his head at Nick's question.

"Your Majesty, you need to leave and get to safety, I'll just slow you down!"

"You're coming with me Wolford or I'm not leaving, I have no intention to repay your taking a bullet in my service by leaving you to die! And to be honest, I'm more scared of your mate if you die than those rifles!"

Wolford just laughed at his liege's comment on his mate, whom the fox had only met three times, and made a gesture for Nick to come over. After being hefted onto his good leg with his bad side supported by Nick he asked what was currently the most important question, as another couple of bullets snapped and whizzed overhead.

"So where are we going?"

"Ideally the palace, but for now, I think anywhere but here will be fine," Nick said looking a bit further down the street. There was another alley, one that hopefully wasn't a dead end, and if it was, it was still one step closer to not being in what was currently a _very_ good kill box. All along the street were buildings of three to five stories, and it seemed like in every other window there was a mammal with a rifle firing down onto the parade route. The parade itself wasn't going anywhere, it was blocked in front by the wreckage so going through with the cars would be suicide. _Travel by paw it is then_. After counting to the mark of three, Nick and Wolford made the short rush of ten meters to the next alley. It was during the rush that Nick learned something new: The vision of the assassins who were currently shooting at him was based on movement. That or he was an unknowing member of a coup, and the assassins had orders to not shoot him.

The alley they had moved into wasn't a dead end fortunately so the two canines moved further in, losing sight of any sniping position along the parade route. Nick and Wolford stopped, with Nick making an improvised bandage out of the hem of his tunic. No substitute for an actual doctor, but there was a pressing lack of those nearby. With the wolf's leg taken care of they began to move deeper into the alley.

"By my reckoning, we're getting close to the Cloth district." said Nick after several minutes.

Wolford looked sidelong at the fox who was his charge. "How do you know that, your Majesty?"

Nick smiled at the wolf. "I used to run about these streets as I wanted to know how my people fared. There are some things that reports, books, and tutors simply can not make you understand. Though that all ended about three years ago."

Wolford blinked at that. "When I was assigned to be in charge of your Guard…"

"Yes, having attentive guards around me made sneaking out of the castle all but impossible."

For Wolford, this was a new side of the Royal he had spent the past three years protecting. He had known Prince Wilde was street-smart, a rare trait in nobles, but he had not known why, or how he had come upon that knowledge..

"So where are we going your Majesty? I know the main streets, not the alleys that run between them."

"A bar. 'Finn's', the owner used to be a friend of mine… Don't know how he'll react to me showing up on his doorstep with a small war being waged nearby while dressed in a nice rich tunic and an Imperator hanging on me."

Roughly fifteen minutes more of fast paced walking, that was definitely lengthened by the winding nature of the alleyways they were in, saw them on the doorstep to the back entrance of the bar Nick had mentioned. Nick pounded on the door three times and heard a shout in response. Nick turned to Wolford.

"Brace yourself."

The wolf had no idea why Nick was saying 'brace yourself', when the mammal who opened the door was a diminutive fennec. Until the fennec started talking, which made Wolford wonder how such a deep and loud voice could come from such a small body.

"WHO THE HELL IS POUNDING ON MY DOOR AT THIS TIME OF DAY, CAN'T YOU READ, YOU...Nick? WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DRESSED IN BLUES? WHO THE HELL IS THIS FOOL? WHAT ARE-"

"Finn I promise I'll answer your questions but in the meantime, my friend here is hurt and we really need to get off the streets."

"Fine but you owe me an explanation for this."

Finnick opened the door to allow the larger canines into his place. After setting Wolford down Nick went into a back room behind the bar itself, leaving the wolf and fennec alone. Wolford was looking about the bar. Most of the building was made from a dark wood, something he didn't know the name of, accented with a lighter wood. Birch maybe? The main lounge of was decorated with wood panels that had been carved and engraved. The most prominent one actually being the ceiling, depicting two vulpines, a male warrior carrying a naked female. It was amazingly well done, the two vulpines looking like they were mountains, a Vulpine myth he mused. All in all, it was a nice place, one that he personally wouldn't mind visiting after a long day, since the Cloth district wasn't too far from the palace. Wolford's musings were interrupted when he heard the deep baritone of the fennec who owned the place engage.

"So how do you know Nick?" The wolf was pondering how to respond when Nick came back into the room, carrying a few medical supplies, and answered the mini-fox's question.

"He's my Imperator, Finn."

That was _not_ the response the tiny fennec was expecting, as his face clearly showed. His mouth had curled up and somehow around like it couldn't decide whether it wanted to growl, bark, laugh, or scoff. His ears had splayed out at different angles, and his eyes had glazed over. After about half a minute however his face began to slowly return to normal after which into very quickly morphed into the deepest scowl Wolford had ever seen, the now deceased Emperors scowls included.

"You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do...Wilde." Nick's family name had been spat out like a curse, not giving Wolford much hope, and causing Nick's heart to fall. He had always considered the smaller fox a friend, however, the scowl on Finnick's face made it clear that feeling was no longer mutual. Now wasn't the time to worry about that, however.

"After you patch Wolford up, not for me, but for the four pups he has at home." The two foxes stared at each other a bit before the smaller one turned to the wolf and began working on the wound, somewhat to Wolford's worry.

"You can relax Wolford, even though he doesn't return the sentiment, I trust Finnick here more than the Royal Physician." Though he didn't show it, Nick's comment surprised Finnick, almost as much as Nick being Royalty had. Nick waited while Wolford had his leg taken care of, and considered the smaller fox. Finnick had explicitly trusted Nick when he had still been running around freely thanks to the rather lax guards he had surrounding him. They had gotten into fights and gotten drunk together, though usually, it was only the latter. They had discussed philosophy and hopes and dreams. They had gone on tirades against the Emperor. After the smaller fox was done, he pointed to Nick and to one of the many chairs that surrounded various tables.

"What do you want to know?" Nick asked as the two foxes sat down.

Finnick stared long and hard before finally asking a question.

"Was it an act?"

"No." Finnick raised an eyebrow at that, he well remembered the times Nick had ranted long into the night cursing and spitting on the Emperor's name.

"Even those rants?" Nick's initial response was to just chuckle darkly.

"Especially not the rants. You see you hate him for various reasons. Letting our military become outdated and outclassed, therefore putting the whole of the empire at risk. Refusing to modernize our economy both by letting the Electors maintain control of it, and refusing to Imperially create any factory's beyond what was needed to supply the Uhlans with enough ammunition to violently repress any and all rebellions. Letting the Electors get any with anything they please, as if they were above the law. Instead of guiding and helping his people, he lorded over them, a cruel tyrant. That's your experience with him."

Nick paused to let his explanation soak in. "I grew up in the same palace as the one he lived in. I'll summarize and say the same cruelty he expressed towards the mammals inside of the palace was just as bad as the cruelty he expressed against those outside of it. So no, my hatred of the former Emperor was not an act."

Nick stopped, he didn't remember starting pacing, but it didn't matter he turned back towards Finnick with a raised eyebrow. The smaller fox was again surprised, despite the vagueness that was the most Nick had ever opened up to Finnick, even though Nick had consistently called him his best friend…

"You say I'm your best friend, how come you never talk to me?" Finnick watched as what he had come to call 'The Wall' cracked for split second, and resealed.

"Royal life isn't conducive to personal sharing, not if you want to stay alive." Nick gave a small smile. "You get something drilled into you enough and going against it can feel like torture."

Finnick supposed that was fair enough. He considered himself to be pretty good at reading other mammals and had only ever seen any falseness to Nick when they came across a sticky situation. It had happened quite a bit between running as couriers and their small-time hustles. It made sense now, though, why Nick had insisted all the money go to Finnick's bar, and was just generous in general. Despite the means with which they had gotten the money, Finnick had given it all back through an equivalent exchange, either through drink or medicine and largely due again to Nick's insistence. Nick might have tried to hide it, but Finnick had seen the red fox give money to starving kits, money the fennec had never asked about, even though it appeared seemingly out of thin air.

"Alright… I take it that mess outside had something to do with you? And you mentioned the _former_ Emperor?"

"Yes, former. There's a coup in progress, with both my grandfather and my father its and I really need to get back to the palace proper, and for that, we probably shouldn't be wearing an Imperators uniform and a rather rich tunic Imperial tunic."

Finnick grunted at that and gestured with a wave of his paw. "What, you think I've got spare wolf and red fox sized clothing just lying around the place?"

"I'd be surprised if you did, I do know that you have plenty of rags lying around… A few of those wrapped around our feet and stuffed in various rips and tears in our current clothing and we'll look like everyone else on the streets."

Finnick just stared at Nick for a bit before grunting again. He jumped down from the table he had climbed onto, grumbling a bit about a particularly needy royal, which Nick simply couldn't let lie.

"Ya know if you keep jumping off of tables that are tal-"

"If you finish that sentence I'm gonna bite your face off," the smaller fox interrupted, giving a rude gesture as he passed by the taller fox. It was good to see Finnick wasn't going to act any differently towards Nick now that he knew he was Royalty. Then Nick winced a bit, realizing it would be a very bad idea to ever bring the mini-fox into the palace.

The two other canines had a light chuckle at that as Finnick disappeared into the same back room Nick had. Nick sighed and simply stood there for a while, doing his best not to think about his father. He couldn't be bothered to care about his grandfather, as he had illustrated to Finnick, but seeing his father disappear in a cloud of flames… Nick shook his head at that. There was time for grief later when he was back in the palace and…and what?

When there was no threat to the Empire?

When he was safe?

If he was going to go back to the palace that would mean accepting that he _was_ Emperor. Which meant there was no such thing as safe, not currently, not as much as he was hated. Nick shook his head again trying to clear his mind. He looked at Wolford and realized something.

"What's your name?"

The wolf looked over to the red fox and cocked his head. "Your Majesty?"

"You've been my Imperator for three years and I don't know your first name…" The red fox sighed.

"That's again-"

" _Don't_ ," Nick held up his paw. "You know how much I hate protocol, and I feel like I should at least know your name considering you've taken a bullet for me. Now, your name."

The wolf sighed, knowing that if it came down to it Nick had made up his mind, and would resort to orders. "Alexei, Your Majesty."

Nick nodded at that, and then had a small grin on his muzzle, immediately making Alexei distrustful of his superior. He had seen that grin before, it never meant anything good.

"Well then, since I know your name and you know mine we should call each other by our names, at least in private, shouldn't we Alexei?" Making the wolf wince a bit at the breach of protocol. He had been in the Royal Guard for the past ten years and protocol might as well have been a small piece of his soul at this point. Then he realized something, Nick hadn't said which name.

"Of course… Piberius." That, in turn, made Nick wince a bit and then laugh more. He might not like the name, but Alexie using it was nothing but a small bit of instant karma.

"Fair enough, Alexei."

It was at this time that Finnick returned from the back room of the bar, carrying a bundle of assorted rags bigger than him. Neither Nick nor Alexei could help but laugh at the sight of the diminutive fox wobbling his way towards them.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up fuzz brains." He then dumped the rags at their foot paws and looked at them before shaking his head, mostly at Nick, as the two taller canines began going about trying to make themselves look as much like paupers as possible.

"Why are you doing it?"

"Doing what?"

"Don't play stupid Nick, we both know you're too smart for that. Why are you going back to the palace? You could just leave it to the Electors… Or whatever's left of the Electorate and whoever threw the coup."

"I don't trust the Electorate any farther than I can throw them. Nor do I trust whoever threw this coup. I highly doubt that mammals who are apparently willing to murder anyone and everyone who might stand in the way of their rise to power are what this country needs right now."

Finnick simply sighed. "That heart of yours is too damned big to be Emperor… You're gonna get yourself killed, you know that right?"

Nick simply sighed. "I have to try, Finn. If I don't then who will?"

"The next guy," and despite Nick's snort, he continued on. "Seriously. We both saw it here with the gangs. A position of power will always be filled. It's a vacuum, Nick, it sucks mammals in and don't let go till they're dead…"

Nick sighed at that, Finnick had a valid point.

"It was something my father told me before the parade. He told me that he was proud of me and that I would make a better Emperor than he would have and that everything happens for a reason. You never saw anything from it because the Emperor always shut us down, but my father and I… We tried to make things better. He's the reason that I'm not just as cruel and vindictive a fox as my grandfather. Finn, I want to know what he was talking about and why he died. I don't know if I'll be able to live with myself if I just walk away from it. This is a gift from my father, he died to give me an opportunity and I have every intention to take it. I will not let his death be a waste."

"Despite the fact that you don't even know what the full extent of the opportunity is?"

Nick gave a small smile and shrugged. "You know me, always did enjoy a good mystery. Besides I finally have a chance to help the mammals in this country, I don't intend on throwing that away."

Finnick just threw his paws up into the air at that. It didn't have much of an effect though seeing as how his arms were only around twenty centimeters long. Finnick at this point just looked to Alexei.

"You have to keep this idiot alive." Alexei's only response was to nod, causing Finnick to shake his head. "I wish you the best damn luck this empire has ever seen because _you're_ going to _need_ it." Alexei couldn't help but agree with the diminutive fox. Yet, at the same time, he also agreed with Nick. He had seen the reports coming from countries who had experienced violent coups like this. In every occasion, the coup hadn't ended well. Especially the coup that had temporarily displaced the Stagborne, with anyone who disagreed with the Tribunal having been put to the guillotine. The wolf was shaken from his thoughts as Nick tugged on what was left of his both looked the part of paupers, and he was thankful that Nick had his signet ring otherwise there was no way on earth either of them were getting back into the castle.

Nick for his part was somewhat curious as to how the streets had changed in the three years since he had left them. He hadn't been happy to leave them and start staying in the castle. Had there been a few close calls? Sure, that was to be expected, and a few close calls were nothing compared to what the people who actually lived there had to go through on a daily basis. He had gone home to feasts for dinners, castle's for beds, and a roof that wasn't threatening to collapse. Looking back, the life he had lived on the streets was more fulfilling for one reason, the mammals he met. He might have walls around his heart and soul that were higher than the ones that were around Jericho, but he enjoyed talking to the mammals who lived on the streets. Even when they were trying to con him out of his money, Nick found there was a sincerity to them that he rarely found among mammals who were at Court. Maybe it was because those mammals were often starving.

As Nick and Alexei stepped onto the grimey and waste filled street, they noticed a distinct lack of other mammals, as well as a distinct lack of gunshots. Since the two were travelling on foot they couldn't avoid the mess that littered the roads and were soon covered in filth themselves.

"Do mammals really live in this?" Alexei asked as he narrowly avoided stepping in a pile of what he hoped was just slop.

"Yes, Alexei, they do. This is actually a good day as well." Nick sighed.

"A good day? How do you mean?" Alexei's question caused Nick to look over at the wolf in bemusement. Alexei had clearly been raised outside the city, or even the palace proper with a question like that.

"The sewers are old Wolford. One hundred and fifty years old to be specific. They barely function when it's dry like this due to their age. When it rains they overflow and take what runs through them with the flooding. There's a reason rodents avoid Cordeburn if they can."

Alexei shuddered at the thought of both floods of waste, and of mice getting caught in the flooding. Death by literally drowning in excrement was now at the top of the list he had for "Unpleasant Ways to Die", now that he knew it was an _actual_ thing. However his mind soon turned towards a more pressing concern. "How long until we reach the palace?"

Nick looked over at the wolf with a smile on his face. "You sure you're a guard? Because you don't seem to know the city very well."

Alexei just grunted. "Exactly, it's not my job to know the city. It's my job to keep you safe, though I'll admit today has not been my best. It's my job to read blueprints and think about where an assassin will come from. I wouldn't have let you go to the parade, but I didn't bother with my objections because of your grandfather."

Nick grunted at that. "I'm not surprised, he probably would have called the very idea that the common mammals might not like their, "Betters", absurd."

They continued on, Nick simply focusing on trying to handle things one at a time, despite the world's seeming determination to drown him in stress. Alexei was thinking the entire time, mostly on how he was going to protect his charge once they got back to the palace proper. He knew of four mammals he could trust, everyone else was a suspect to this coup, and with his leg hurt he himself couldn't do much if an assassin came after the young Emperor. He had to admit that he was happy there were no other mammals to speak of on the streets. It made life a little bit simpler not having to worry about whether or not a pickpocket would try to get to Nick's ring. The wolf supposed the mammals here were used to gunshots, if the reports were anything to go by, but the same could not be said of explosions.

"So how exactly are we going to be getting back to the palace,as you seem to know the city far better than I do."

Nick chuckled a bit. "Don't tell me those cars have made you lazy? We're walking, and it's going to take us a good five hours, at least, to get to the palace."

Alexei grunted at that, his leg was going to give him hell. "Why five hours? We're not _that_ far from the palace."

"No, we're not. But _John Crevan_ ," Nick gave Alexei a look. "knows everyone, and there's a decent amount of mammals that know him, and I'd rather _avoid_ them."

Alexei just looked at the fox as they hobbled along for a bit. "You had your nose in every bit of this city didn't you?"

Nick just nodded. "I did, or at least tried to. Despite what the Electorate and Nobles like to think the common mammals of this country are far from stupid. You want to know why they haven't completely starved? Because there's a group called Demeter's Circle who provide food for the entire country. Free. Figured those were probably mammals worth knowing. Besides, I didn't have access to our vaunted intelligence corps, thank my grandfather, so if I wanted to know something I had to learn myself." He finished the sarcastic little spiel off with a snort.

Alexei looked over at Nick. "And you just stopped that when I was assigned as your guard three years ago?"

Nick grinned at that. "No, I just started stealing what few intelligence reports were produced. Before you asked I _did_ try asking for them, and I was rejected out of paw."

"Julius II really didn't want you to know anything did he?"

"Pft, He kept me in the palace so he could keep an eye on me, he didn't trust me anymore than he could throw me. If not for that we wouldn't be here, we would be in Grehsa."

The two mammals were silent for a few moments after that, eventually Alexei spoke up again.

"Why did you pick a fort way up in the mountains for your second fief?"

"Because I was afraid I might one day have to go to war with our former Emperor and his handlers." He saw the puzzled and concerned look Alexei was giving him and continued. "Don't look so surprised do you really think a man who was suffering degradation of the mind could really terrorise the Empire so deftly? I don't know who they were, but I don't believe he did it all on his own. Just last week he was in my rooms asking where my mother was."

Alexei nodded at that before he asked his next question. "How are you doing through all of this? You might have hated your grandfather, but I know you didn't hate your father."

Nick's pace faltered a bit and his face straightened out, and Alexei could hear the fox's teeth grinding. "There's time for grief and tears later, when we're not on empty streets after nearly having been blown up."

=8=

It took them seven hours, most of the day, to get back to the palace. Partially due to Wolford's leg. Partially due to a group of mammals _John Crevan_ needed to avoid. It was a group of thugs that the fox had conned. A small bit of Justice in a city where the constables were either too corrupt or too lazy to do anything.

That and Nick had wanted to use one of the smaller gates, where mammals loyal to the electorate were less likely to be. Surprises were the best way to get a genuine reaction a lot of times, and Nick wanted to see where the Electorate stood as best he could. As they approached the gate Alexei called up to it, before they were close to the torchlight. The guards would be jumpy after what happened today, and he didn't want to get shot.

"Hail to the gate! Two mammals approaching."

"Halt! Stand and be recognized!"

"Imperator Alexei Wolford and Emperor Nicholas Wilde!"

The gate began opening almost immediately. The two mammals began walking forward and were greeted by three guards. All of whom were officers to whom Nick showed his ring, showing that he was exactly who he claimed to be. The three officers all nodded but didn't bow, as none of them had been fans of the old Emperor. If what they had heard was true, then Nick was a carbon copy. Nick for his part didn't care, as he hated protocol anyways. He began to walk forward, still supporting Alexei, and through the officers. He found it strange how nearly getting blown up and carrying a wounded wolf for several hours and had actually felt liberating when compared to not even five minutes of palace life.

"I don't know if you noticed but Imperator Wolford is wounded."

The three officers had continued following him, but had done nothing. As he walked into the blockhouse beyond the gate he saw several soldiers standing about looking at him and Alexei. And out of the twenty some soldiers only three acted after a quick discussion amongst themselves, grabbing medical supplies and a stretcher.

The three came over, and began to unpack the stretcher as the sergeant began talking. "Get the Imperator on the stretcher and to a medic, NOT the royal physician, if there's one thing the Imperator needs right now, it's to not be anywhere near that cat."

The two soldiers looked to Nick who nodded and Alexei was quickly put on a stretcher as the soldiers began to take him into the castle. Nick turned to the Sergeant who had come over and helped his Imperator. The rhino, who Nick knew was named McHorn, had probably been in the military for longer than Nick had been alive. Nick nodded his thanks to the rhino and received a nod in return, before he turned to the three officers.

The air around them and posture they carried themselves with screamed that they were the sons of nobles. He then looked at McHorn who was quite clearly all military. The difference was night and day.

"Would any of you three care to explain to me why none of you called for a stretcher of doctor? What's more why are there three of you here? One officer per gate per shift. Would any of you also care to explain why all three of you smell like rum? Actually, don't bother."

Nick turned from the three officers who had slowly but surely gotten more and more angry as Nick had asked his questions. _The difference between Nobles and Commoners_...Nick mused. _Nobles bristle at being told they're wrong more often than not, while Commoners learned._

"Sergeant Mchorn how long have these three acted this way? Be honest."

"Since they were posted here. The north-east and south-west gates are left without their officers every night, because these two," McHorn pointed to the two on the left. "Come here to play cards and get drunk. I've had to figure out the job these three are supposed to do and then train the other Sergeant's."

Nick nodded, he wasn't surprised. "Sergeant strip them of their ranks and throw them in the dungeons for dereliction of duty." The rhino nodded and called several soldiers over, all of whom looked very glad to be rid of the three officers. Nick for his part walked inside the palace, after placing his ring on his finger. Many thought the Vulpine Crown was the symbol of the throne but it wasn't. Something that had been established in order to help prevent imposters on the throne was every royal was given a signet ring that was unique to them.

He made his way to the infirmary, passing several mammals, all of whom stopped to look at him and bowed, albeit in a begrudging manner. He didn't much care. A wave of exhaustion had overcome him as he had walked into the palace. There wasn't much fanfare, he had come in through a side entrance, but with so many mammals recognizing him, the electorate would know he was alive within the hour. He shrugged mentally, it hadn't been much of a plan to begin with.

Opening the door to the infirmary, it wasn't hard to spot Alexei. He walked over and saw the wolf was out cold. Not a surprise, today hadn't been easy or short. He heard a short cough and turned to see the who Nick guessed was Alexei's attendant. He stood up and shook the lynx's paw.

"How is he?"

"Lucky, very lucky. The bullet wasn't a full centimeter away from his femoral artery. If that had been hit, there would have been nothing you could have done. The bullet was in an awkward spot to be sure but only grazed the tendons in his leg. But as it is Imperator Wolford should be fine in roughly three weeks if all goes well."

Nick nodded at the news and sent for a courier. Alexei's mate deserved to know what had happened, and that the wolf would be fine. Nick was about to leave when the doctor asked, "Did you do the patch job on his leg? If so, impressive work."

Nick simply chuckled at that. "No it was an old friend of mine. One who is best left outside the palace lest we never have peace here again." The doctor chuckled at that before walking off to attend to his other patients.

Nick left the infirmary and made his way to his quarters, stopping by the kitchens to snag a piece of bread and some water, which he quickly consumed on his way. Finally arriving at his quarters he noticed that nothing had been touched. He changed out of his now ruined tunic and sat heavily on his bed. This morning he had been a prince, with both his father and grandfather alive. He didn't really know or understand how he felt about his grandfather. The crotchety old fox had simply caused too much pain, both inside and outside of the palace for Nick to feel anything like grief for him. His father was a different story. Here in the privacy of his rooms he let himself process the fact that his father was gone and he let his tears flow freely. As the tears flowed he laid back and curled into himself, seeking comfort that was not to come. He wished his mother was here, even though she had passed nine years prior. There was no one else he could turn to either. He didn't know how long he laid there, but eventually he got up and made himself 'proper'. He looked at the grandfather clock in the room and saw the time was two A.M. before walking out of his rooms. The country needed an Emperor, not a grieving boy, especially after a day like today.

=8=

 _A/N: Well this one certainly took a while. Hopefully you all enjoy it. BIG thanks to Heathocracy and Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, both of whom are fantastic authors and helped me out a great deal with this chapter, both mechanically and conceptually. If you haven't checked them out yet you most definitely should. That's all for now, have a good one folks._


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